About Me

I am a lifelong student of military history with particular interest in the Battle of Antietam. I work for the federal government in Washington DC and have two young adult children who I love very much. I currently volunteer at Antietam and devote much time to the study of this battle and the Maryland Campaign. I enjoy collecting notable contemporary quotations by and about the men of Antietam. Since 2013 I have been conducting in depth research on the regular artillery companies of the Union Army and their leaders. I hope to turn this into a book on this subject in the future. My perspective comes from a 28-year career in the U.S. Army. Travels took me to World War II battlefields in Europe and the Pacific where American valor ended the tyranny of Nazism and Empire. But our country faced its own greatest challenge 80 years earlier during the Civil War. And it was the critical late summer of 1862, when Robert E. Lee launched the Maryland Campaign. It is an incredible story of drama, carnage, bravery, and missed opportunities that culminated around the fields and woodlots of peaceful Sharpsburg MD. So join me as I make this journey South from the North Woods.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Taken at the Flood

Pardon the pun.Yesterday a powerful storm dumped around two inches of rain on the Potomac River valley.The mountain back roads that I drive over Crampton’s Gap and Red Hill enroute to the park this morning were awash in gravel and rivulets from the storm.Modern Burnside Bridge Road was closed for a time due to the high water.I was anxious to see the Antietam Creek at the Burnside Bridge.There, I shot some video of the high water passing under the bridge.The video was taken from the east (Union) side of the bridge this morning.

While there, I talked with Ranger Rory Moore who told me that lightning struck the observation tower on the Sunken Road (Richardson Avenue) melting the padlock and chain on the tower gate.The photo (left) of the lock doesn’t clearly show that but the lightning certainly fried it.